As I crossed the border from Laos and entered Thailand once again, I had a sense of happiness and familiarity. There were nicely paved roads, lined with power lines, with the usual marts and stores in the towns. Paved streets. 7-11s. I was back.
Of all the Southeast Asian countries I've been in, I think Thailand is the easiest transition country - its strange enough to make you realize you're in Asia, but familiar enough to help you ease into traveling. It's also the most prosperous of the four countries, and is the only one to not have been colonized by a Western power nor turned Communist. I'd say it's hard to find someone who has spent time in Thailand and not want to smile when they think of it, whether it's because of the food, the people, the islands, the coconuts, or the scenery. In short, Thailand has a lot to offer.
But, it has a lot to offer in different ways. The North, with its strong Therevada Buddhist influence, mountains, and hill tribes, is known to have a very peaceful and calm way of life. Contrast this with the chaos of Bangkok, or the island lifestyle (which ranges from party to hippie to untouched to touristy) and you’ve got yourself a very diverse, but equally cool all around country.
As a result, I'll have to be more prolific with my postings, as each part of Thailand I went to was a different kind of experience. So, let's start with the North.
I headed straight to Chiang Mai from Laos, with the intention to stay there for about a week a use it as a base for some day trips and excursions. The girls, who were a couple days behind me in Laos, were planning to meet there, so I was on my own to explore a bit first.
Chiang Mai, the former Lanna (Northern Thai culture) kingdom's capital, has retained a lot of its old time royal status, manifested by its old city walls (see left) and moat, its impressive golden temples, and its beautiful monasteries. However, it's also turned into one of the most sought after tourist destinations in the north, so its former royal presence is juxtaposed with a multitude of guesthouses, cafes, restaurants, and shops. Which, of course, makes for a pretty happy tourist, for the most part.
I was wiped out as I arrived in Chiang Mai, plus the weather was rainy, so I decided to call a mental health day and check out the many coffee shops while I caught up on some things. Used bookstores - check. Night market - check. Cheap Thai food and coffee on every street - check. Fruit smoothie stands at every corner - check. 7-11s on every corner – check. Chiang Mai treated me very well. The girls met up with me a couple of days later, and after showing them around a bit and catching up, we planned out our days and realized we'd have to rush some things - and would have to leave the next day for a two day trip four hours north to Pai.
In Pai our main intention was to scout out our excursion options. Thailand is full of 'experiences' such as trekking, waterfall trips, white water rafting, zip lining, you name it. The girls had been looking forward to elephant trekking since they had arrived in Asia, and were so enthusiastic about it that I, who would have never imagined this, actually paid up to ride and swim with elephants the next day. You only live once, right?
And now I can include elephant riding on my list of firsts. I must admit, I don't think of myself as typically daunted by animals, but I felt something that may have borderlined slight terror as I climbed up the side of my elephant, pulling on its EAR to help me up and swing my leg over. Getting on an elephant is not as easy as it looks, my friends. And once I was up - it still wasn't easy. We chose to ride without a seat, so basically bareback, and as we took off for our two hour 'trek' I found myself perched directly on its neck, with the ears flapping back on my legs here and there (which means it's happy, I learned) Comfortable? Not really. But was I complaining? Nope.
So it was pretty cool to be riding an elephant (I kind of thought it was like riding a really big, but slow and wrinklier, horse). My favorite part was when we got to take them down to the river and play with them in the water. By play, I mean get sprayed at, splashed at, and thrown off into the water. It was a blast.
Unfortunately, we had to leave Pai the very next day, so we didn't get to explore much more. I think tourism has exploded there in the past few years, and though it was a lovely little town, we were definitely expecting less tourism - the story for quite a few 'hidden gems' in Thailand, it seems.
On our last day in Chiang Mai we were able to spend almost a full day exploring, taking pictures, and getting ready for our next stop: Bangkok.
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